1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotary input device and electronic equipment equipped with the rotary input device.
2. Description of Related Art
A rotary input device has hitherto been known as an operation input device for operating electronic equipment, which rotary input device is equipped with a rotary operation device, such as a dial, to enable an operator to perform the enlargement and reduction of an image displayed in a display section in accordance with a rotation operation of the rotary operation device by an operator, and to scroll an image displayed in the display section in accordance with a depression operation of the rotary operation device by the operator (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publications No. 2003-296006, No. 2006-211542, and No. H11-312050).
As such a rotary input device, for example, the rotary input device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-211542 is provided with a plurality of clicking feeling grooves, or clicking feeling projections, arranged along a circumference around the rotation center of a rotary operation device at a constant angle pitch on one side of the rotary operation device and a member on the supporting side of the rotary operation device. The rotary input device is further provided with one or a plurality of clicking feeling projections, or clicking feeling grooves, which is freely fit to the clicking feeling grooves, or clicking feeling projections, to allow the rotations of the rotary operation device with a resistance to the rotations, on the other side of the rotary operation device and the member. The rotary input device aims to present a clicking feeling to an operator.
However, only providing the plurality of clicking feeling grooves and the clicking feeling projections arranged along a circumference around the rotation center of the rotary operation device at the constant angle pitch can only give the operator a fixed clicking feeling at a fixed position. Consequently, it is impossible to give the operator, for example, a clicking feeling according to a display state pertaining to the display position, the display magnification ratio, and the like of an image under display, and the operator is required to view the image in order to recognize the display state of the image under display.